THE secret lives of rare fish are being revealed in new photos released by Dorset Wildlife Trust. The winning images from the annual Dorset Seasearch Underwater Photography Competition include an extraordinary and intimate photograph of a rare and beautiful fish at its nest site, showing what is believed to be previously unrecorded breeding display.
Seasearch is part of a national programme to record the wildlife hidden beneath the water, using a combination of written notes and photographs from volunteer sports divers, and is co-ordinated locally by Dorset Wildlife Trust. The competition was launched to find the photos that tell us the most about little-known species or habitats, with the winners selected from hundreds of images by divers in Dorset during 2011. The winning photograph was taken by Matt Doggett from Southampton and shows the rare Baillon’s wrasse in Poole Bay appearing to guard its nest and exhibiting possible breeding colours, a first in the history of the competition. Dr Frances Dipper, one of the UK’s leading experts on marine fish, judging the entries, said: “This fish has been recorded occasionally from the English Channel and has been photographed in the Channel Islands and in west Ireland. I believe this to be Baillon’s wrasse and we are still trying to ascertain whether the pink colouration of the lips and fins is seasonal with breeding, as it is not mentioned in most texts.”
The runners-up were Fiona Ravenscroft’s seaslug at Portland, Justin Evans’ undulate ray on Christchurch ledges and two reef habitat images: Gordon Bird’s Silt-covered reef, showing sea cucumbers, anemones, sponges, bryozoa and seaweeds at Lulworth Banks; and Mike Markey’s Eunicella reef in Lyme Bay, showing pink seafans and several sponges.
Peter Tinsley, Living Seas Manager at Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: “Much of what we know about Dorset’s amazing marine life comes from the records and photographs Seasearch divers bring back. This information is extremely valuable when arguing for protection for fragile and vulnerable habitats.”
For details about protecting Dorset’s marine life, visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/seathreat. Divers who would like to help record Dorset’s underwater wildlife can ring 01305 264620 or visit www.seaseach.org.uk
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